


At the Lift of a Veil

by Zeiphior



Category: Twisted-Wonderland (Video Game)
Genre: Drabble, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Spoilers, but yea i suggest reading it later if you wish to stay truly spoiler-free!, hint of fluff, mild ones for the content of chapter 5 and vil's overblot design
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-12 01:41:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28752348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zeiphior/pseuds/Zeiphior
Summary: Accepting that he wasn't perfect, that he didn't need perfection to prove anything to others was something Vil continued to struggle with throughout the years.. so when one of the most important days of his life approaches, how much power can a single piece of fabric still hold over him?Luckily he doesn't have to deal with it alone.
Relationships: Rook Hunt/Vil Schoenheit
Comments: 15
Kudos: 52





	At the Lift of a Veil

**Author's Note:**

> Why sleep when you can run over the contents of chapter 5 for multiple hours?
> 
> This was written at 3 am. so I apologize for any mistakes hahahh, I simply had to get this off my chest

A shock ran through his body as he opened his eyes, briefly freezing at the sight of his own reflection. He didn’t expect it to happen.. why would it play up again after this many years? He had everything he wanted, well with one small exception, but that would soon be fulfilled.. so why did the doubts come back now?

Reaching out he carefully slid his fingers over the fabric, incredibly soft and delicate to the touch. It was old, he knew it was, but with the way magic had been cast over it one could almost consider it brand new. From the elegant lace to the hint of shimmer of diamonds.. it truly was a beautiful piece.

Then was he truly worthy of this? Of wearing this pristine white?

Memories came flooding instantly, the feelings of never being good enough despite all of his hard work, of always being pushed into the role of the bad guy on baseless assumptions.. of seeing himself slowly turning into one and being unable to stop it, unable to reach out for help and falling deeper into his own despair as all his hope shattered, broken. It was a common saying; it was impossible to truly fix mirrors, the cracks would always be there, always visible even to those who didn’t look for them. The scars in him would always be there.. these ugly, ugly scars reminding him just how weak he once had been, how weak he still was, the ugliness he was still hiding underneath-

“Vil? _Mon amour_.. what’s the matter?”

Rook’s voice snapped Vil out of it, shaking his head lightly before looking back at the mirror again. For a split-second he sees himself again, overblotted- his wounded pride blatantly displayed like a threatened peacock, harsh lines and spiked crystals to keep everyone at a distance, the dark veil covering him a suffocating sight- truly a saint fallen from grace. He had no choice but to shut his eyes tightly. As long as others didn’t see.. nobody was allowed to see.. he couldn’t stand their looks. The disbelief, the disappointment, the fear- maybe they had been right, maybe people had always been right about him. As he opened his eyes again he noticed how Rook had joined within the reflection of the mirror. He let out a shaky breath, trying to push back the lingering feelings in an attempt to ground himself. “Nothing, I’m fine. It’s fine.”

Rook let out a soft, questioning hum at that, stepping closer to Vil and he instantly noticed himself trying to shy away. He saw Rook reaching out, drawing his fingers over the fabric as well before taking a gentle hold of his hand and giving it a small squeeze. Grounding him, Rook never believed his lies.

“It’s the veil isn’t it?”

He opened his mouth to speak but no words came out, slowly closing it again and nodding as he didn’t shift his gaze away from himself in the mirror. It wasn’t the same, he knew it wasn’t, then why did the sight of it manage to mess with him to this extent? He had looked over various designs and it hadn't sparked any type of reaction, but now that it had manifested, real in his hands- it _scared_ him.

“You don’t have to wear it, you know I will still think you’re beautiful without. So will they, they will understand. We can simply tell them-“ Rook started, but Vil instantly shook his head.

“No I do,” He replied stubbornly, how could he possibly not after Rook’s grandmother had gifted it to him? It had been passed down for generations.. the way her eyes had lit up when he accepted it and thanked her for trusting him with such a precious family heirloom. He could easily recognize that it was the final step of the Hunt family in accepting him, even when the process had basically been fluent anyway. Carrying that faith.. there was no way he couldn’t wear it. "I do need to wear it."

“Alright.. and so you shall wear it,” The gentle confirmation in the words was comforting, as were the strong arms being laced around his waist, the weight of a familiar head on his shoulder as Rook glanced at him through the mirror’s reflection. The intensity of those green eyes instantly made him feel more exposed than he already was. “ _Alors dis moi_.. what the purpose of a wedding veil such as this is?”

He knew what Rook was trying to do. The other would never dismiss his struggles, but simply talked him through them.. he hated it sometimes. He was always able to see underneath his mask, had always been able to no matter how excruciatingly annoying it could be at times. It had taken quite some time for him to start considering seeing it as a blessing instead. “To assure the other partner doesn’t see the person underneath it until they are being given away.. or until vows are exchanged. One is free to interpret it in any way one wishes nowadays.”

“ _Correct_.. and what happens to it then?” Rook gently urged.

“It will reveal the person underneath to their spouse, their most important person..” Vil answered in a quiet voice, his grip on the veil tightening even as he tried to be gentle with it. “..the veil gets lifted..”

“ _Beauté~ 100 points_ ~” Rook softly whispered, pressing a set of lingering kisses on his shoulder. His grip on the veil weakened again, the hint of a smile forming on his lips as he watched him in his loving admirations. As the other lifted his gaze again Vil can’t help but smile more, especially when his smile gets mirrored.

Turning away from the mirror he allowed himself a moment of weakness, tightly wrapping his arms around his fiancé and burying his face in his neck. Knowing this to be the one place where he wasn’t going to get judged.. where the best in him would always be searched for, recognized and appreciated. Where he didn’t have to be perfect to be appreciated.

 _“I will always be there to lift your veil Roi de mon Coeur_..”

  


It was a promise, one he knew was always going to be fulfilled. So when Rook lifts his veil two weeks later he smiles the brightest he has ever done, knowing that he had forever found his safe haven in the man standing before him. The most beautiful one of all, at least to him.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! 💙 With Vil being one of my favourite Twisted Wonderland characters the contents of chapter 5 have really been hitting home
> 
> Also with Rook being quite the private person (understatement of the century right there) I imagined their wedding to be quite small- surely the press release afterwards would cause more than enough chaos already~


End file.
